Kathmandu. The Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN) has drawn the attention of Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Gita Chaudhary to start work on five hydropower projects that have been stalled under the direction of Langtang National Park.

A delegation led by IPPAN President Ganesh Karki met Minister Chaudhary on Wednesday and urged him to create an environment conducive for the commencement of works of national priority hydropower projects as soon as possible.

Handing over the demand letter to Minister Chaudhary, Chairman Karki said that the ban on construction of projects from the National Park after the approval of the Environment Impact Assessment report of the projects in the national park has discouraged the private sector.

“It is wrong for the Ministry of Energy to grant permission for the development of projects by collecting millions of rupees in revenue while one body of the Ministry of Forest approves the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) on the one hand while another agency does not give permission to resume the project. He said, “We should not allow the felling of trees and land ownership rights for 4-5 years as far as possible. At a time when the government is aiming to generate 30,000 MW in 10 years, the increase in such activities will not be achieved. ’

He also said that the Ministry should take initiative to facilitate the project at a time when the government is preparing to bring Sunset Law.

In a conversation with the IPPAN delegation, Minister Chaudhary said that the ministry would facilitate in starting the work of the hydropower project. She said that policy-level reforms would be made to resolve the problems seen in the development projects within some time.

The Langtang National Park (Langtang National Park) has directed the government to halt the construction of five hydropower projects with a capacity of 153 MW including the 36.5 MW Brahmayani Hydropower Project, the 20.52 MW Upper Brahmayani Hydropower Project, the 9.7 MW Brahmayani A Hydropower Project, the 40 MW Balefi Khola Hydropower Project and the 46 MW Upper Balefi Hydropower Project in Sindhupalchowk.

IPPAN senior vice-president Mohan Kumar Dangi said that the park administration should facilitate the construction work instead of halting the project as per the permit given by various government bodies and the Environmental Impact Assessment report approved by the Ministry of Forest.

According to IPPAN, the directive will create a big hurdle in the construction of projects of around 50,000 MW as most of the hydropower projects in Nepal fall within the national park area. IPPAN has demanded to withdraw the letter of the National Park to discourage the private sector from achieving the goals of the Government of Nepal and to create an environment conducive for the construction of the project in a smooth manner.

Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Dr. In a meeting with Buddhi Sagar Poudel, they demanded that the Ministry of Forest and Forests have already approved the Environment Impact Assessment report by amending the directive issued by IPPAN to stop the construction of projects in the national park and create an environment conducive for working accordingly.